Introduction - Sept 19, 2019

According to a report from a correspondent in Germany, Syrian President Assad has offered a general amnesty to all those who fled the country. But how many will take up his offer? After all, Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders and offered migrants and refugees sanctuary, along with subsidised housing, financial support and free medical care.

By opening Germany's borders, because of EU border policy, she also opened the way for migrants to travel to the rest of Europe. Although given Germany's generous welfare system, most preferred to stay on there.

But having enjoyed Merkel's largesse how many of the refugees will now want to return to a war-ravaged Syria? Undoubtedly some will; the more honest among them and we are sure there are many.

However, we suspect that many of the more unscrupulous won't be so eager to take up Assad's offer. Having lived on state handouts, and in many cases no doubt the fruits of petty crime, many will opt to stay.

Meaning that Merkel's open border policy has led to the creation of a migrant underclass, subsisting on state handouts and the proceeds of petty crime, which will blight Europe for decades to come.

Was that the intention?

It's also worth asking why Assad's offer of amnesty was given so little media coverage. His offer got next to no mention in the UK media. Why? Did it show Assad in a light that was too favourable? Or was it felt that his offer removed the last pretext for the open border policy?

Either way the only reason now for Europe to accept hordes of uneducated, young, mostly male migrants now would be to create a new underclass. Ed.

Assad issues general amnesty - now the Syrians can return

Largely unnoticed by the Western media, the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad issued a general amnesty for crimes committed prior to that date on September 14, 2019. The "Decree No. 20" joins in a number of previous pardon - as it had been in the autumn of last year, an amnesty for deserters and conscientious objectors - is new, however, that the decision also concerns the civilian area. The aim is to make it easier, especially for Syrian refugees, to return to the largely peaceful country.

At the time, Assad's decree fell into the deliberations of the Russian, Iranian and Turkish heads of state on the situation and future of Syria. The country is largely under the control of the government, only in the Turkey-sponsored Islamist stronghold Idlib in the northwest, it comes to fighting. In an offensive that has been going on since April, the army, with the support of Russia and Iran, was able to recapture important areas. Turkish President Erdogan's main aim is to prevent this: the 3.6 million Syrian refugees are a major burden for Turkey, which is why he warned against a new wave of refugees that would also affect Europe. So far, Turkey has supported the Islamist militias in Idlib, whose most powerful representatives, however, are not adhering to the agreed ceasefire agreements - and that is why the domestic political understanding of Erdogan's Muslim solidarity is now declining.

Poster campaign in Berlin: The war is over, Syria needs you. Click to enlarge

With the amnesty decree, Assad sends an important signal in this situation to the reconciliation of the Syrian conflict parties at home and abroad. It benefits, above all, the young men who have gone to Europe, who have often left their homeland only to escape military service while their families have remained in Syria. It is precisely this population group that the Syrian state, after eight years of civil war, most urgently needs for the reconstruction that has already begun. However, the pardon is also subject to conditions: in order to benefit from it, deserters in Syria must report within three months, outside Syria within six months with the authorities. In addition to impunity for deserters, all death sentences are converted into prison sentences. Exceptions to the decree are armed acts against the state, collaboration with foreign states, membership of terrorist militia and drug and arms smuggling.

For Germany, the decision means that many Syrian asylum seekers are no longer at risk of prosecution and could prepare for their return home. Frank Pasemann, member of the AFD parliamentary group and head of the Syria contact group, commented: "With the general amnesty of 14 September 2019, the rightful president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashar al-Assad, paves the way for hundreds of thousands of refugees back in to go to their homeland and to advance the reconstruction there. Meanwhile, the country is also largely pacified, so there is no reason to stay here in Germany, far from home. "At the same time criticized the member of the Federal Executive of the party, however, the German government, which refuses all realities, the Syrian Recognize the government and resume diplomatic relations with Damascus. "It is incomprehensible," continues Pasemann, "that the Federal Government does not recognize the legitimate government of a sovereign state, and thus significantly hinders, if not threatens, the reconstruction of Syria. Instead, large sums of money are flowing into the coffers of terrorists acting as government and keeping civil war afloat. "